Harris border confusion haunts her new campaign

• The administration's early infighting, blame-shifting and indecision around their border response does not help her, either.

Driving the news: In the past few days, the Trump campaign and Republicans have tagged Harris repeatedly with the "border czar" title — which she never actually had.

• "Harris was appointed 'border czar' in March of 2021, and since that time, millions and millions of illegal aliens have invaded our country and countless Americans have been killed by migrant crime because of her willful demolition of American borders and laws," Trump told reporters on a call on Tuesday.
• House GOP Chair Elise Stefanik introduced a resolution condemning the administration and its "Border Czar" for failing to secure the U.S.
• Harris supporters have rushed to her defense. "She assumed the role that Vice President Biden had during the Obama administration, which is diplomacy with Central America," former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson told Fox News on Tuesday. "She is not the border czar."

How we got here: In March 2021, Biden tapped Harris to lead the administration's coordination with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, which were key sources of migration to the border.

• The announcement led to near-immediate confusion in the media and in the White House over how involved Harris would be, with Republicans and some news outlets, including Axios, giving Harris the unofficial monicker of "border czar."
• Shortly after, the border surge had grown into a full-blown humanitarian and political crisis.
• The "border czar" narrative stuck, especially in conservative circles, and calls mounted in spring 2021 for Harris to visit the border.

Between the lines: Immigration has remained a top concern for U.S. voters, and for the first time in almost two decades, a majority of Americans say there should be less immigration, according to Gallup.

• Making a clear immigration pitch to voters could be critical for Harris' campaign.
• The Biden campaign had been going on offense, blaming Republicans for killing a bipartisan border deal and touting a decline in border numbers following a new, strict executive action.

What to watch: Immigration advocates told Axios they are excited about the prospect of a Harris administration.

• Unlike Biden, they see Harris as personally well-versed and invested in the issue, pointing to her work on behalf of Dreamers and other immigration-related legislation in the Senate.
• "She's really experienced and knowledgable — she, herself, knows all this stuff," Kerri Talbot, the director of Immigration Hub, told Axios.

Flashback: In her first trip to Guatemala and Mexico, Harris urged migrants to "not come" during a press conference. The message, coming from the daughter of immigrants, received blowback from immigration advocates, and one former official described the much-shared clip as "awkward."

• Harris then seemed to shrug off a direct question from Lester Holt about whether she had plans to visit the border. "And I haven't been to Europe," she said.

• The pressure built and Harris ultimately visited El Paso at the end of June 2021 — though even then, she faced criticism for not choosing a busier area or visiting a controversial temporary facility holding migrant children.

Zoom in: Internally, Harris' team and her office made clear her responsibilities began and ended with the factors driving people to leave Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, as Axios has reported.

• As the migration became more global, the team remained focused on the Northern Triangle and Mexico. The efforts did bring billions of dollars of investment to the region from the private sector.
• "Harris continues to lead the effort to address the root causes of migration," a White House official told Axios in a statement, "including by generating more than $5.2 billion in investments into the region."

By the numbers: Biden has embraced harsher actions at the border, using an executive order to largely cut off access to asylum for those who illegally cross the border while crossings remain at high levels.

• The actions have seemed to work, at least temporarily. June saw the lowest number of illegal border crossings since January 2021.
• "This administration's executive actions have brought unauthorized crossings to a lower level than when Trump left office. President Biden and Vice President Harris are leading on border security, while congressional Republicans sabotage it," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said.

Editor's note: This article has been updated and clarified to note that Axios was among the news outlets that incorrectly labeled Harris a "border czar" in 2021.